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[15:28] <Yanmei> Following the Exarch's instructions, Yanmei thought carefully about a certain admirable leader. Her cool, perpetually unflustered countenance… Her fashionable hair and distinctive clothing…
[15:30] <Minaplo> [And she appeared, quite simply there when once she wasn't.-
[15:31] <Minaplo> ["Hello, Chancellor Zhang." Said Liu Lin, appearing entirely unsurprised.]
[15:32] * Yanmei beamed at her. -
[15:33] <Yanmei> "You don't have to call me Chancellor while we're here."
[15:33] <Minaplo> ["Alright, then, Yanmei." Said Lin, a small smile on her face.-
[15:34] <Minaplo> ["Well done on your victory."]
[15:37] <Yanmei> "It's not like I did it on my own? It's a collective victory that you helped with every bit as much as I did."
[15:38] <Minaplo> ["A collective victory, yes, but your role was more fundamental than my own."]
[15:49] <Yanmei> "Maybe. But when I think back to all the times you and Marianne and the others advised me and kept me from doing silly things… Anyway, I just wanted to thank you."
[15:50] <Minaplo> ["Well… Thank you, Yanmei. I was happy to play my part." Said Lin. "And I look forward to helping you in the future, too."-
[15:50] <Minaplo> ["… That is." Lin sat. "If you're returning to life?"]
[15:53] <Yanmei> "Of course? There's still a lot I want to see and do."
[15:55] <Minaplo> ["Good. That's good to hear." Said Lin. "There's a lot of work for us to do as well- now that the war is over, we, and the Federation, have to win the peace."-
[15:55] <Minaplo> ["Winning peace is hard." Said Lin. "Take it from me."-
[15:55] <Minaplo> ["… Although on that topic, I take it the Solemn Exarch has already presented you with a choice about humanity's fate?"]
[15:58] <Yanmei> "Yes. You could make a good argument for either decision, too."
[15:58] <Minaplo> ["Hmm. It seems like a simple enough choice to me."]
[16:00] <Yanmei> "Really?"
[16:04] <Minaplo> ["You don't agree?"]
[16:08] <Yanmei> "Well. On one hand, you can radically change the nature of humans. Give them an AT Field. Probably make them more adaptable in a large number of ways. On the other hand, we could stay the same and continue to exist has we have, fighting for the future in our own way. I think there are comforts to both of them."
[16:13] <Minaplo> ["To a certain mindset, I suppose there are." Said Liu Lin. "But I'm choosing the first one, because it prevents millions of deaths."]
[16:18] <Yanmei> "To be clear, are you referring to deaths in the near future as people start new wars with each other? Or do you mean the distant future, when we fight the Great Enemy?"
[16:19] <Minaplo> ["Neither, actually." Said Lin. "I don't know anything about this 'Great Enemy', but I know plenty about boring old day-to-day human suffering, and that's exactly what changing the nature of humanity will prevent."]
[16:27] <Yanmei> "Oh." Yanmei glanced away with a frown. "You might not be wrong? Even learning about each other in this gestalt consciousness probably isn't enough to stop all that."
[16:30] <Minaplo> ["No." Said Lin. "No, I think this gestalt consciousness will do great things, but it won't stop tuberculosis from killing a million people a year, or prevent millions of children from starving to death."-
[16:34] <Minaplo> ["I'm not going to talk down humanity, or discredit the value of our struggles all this time, especially with Lilith sabotaging our progress." Said Lin. "I'm sure, if left to our own devices, we can find cures for diseases and solve the problem of world hunger eventually… But that still means consiging millions to death."-
[16:35] <Minaplo> ["I'm certain there are people out there who believe that following one's principles is the most important thing they can do, and I admire that. I used to feel the same way, which is why I resigned from leadership after the Civil War. I wanted to stick to my principles and surrender control to the civilian population- but the nation wasn't ready."-
[16:36] <Minaplo> ["So what did I prioritise more in that moment? My own principles, or the health of the nation? And if my principles mean accepting the deaths and deterioration of millions, then what good are they, really?"]
[16:47] <Yanmei> "You've clearly thought a lot about this…" Yanmei folded her arms, frowning. "Even if something's uncomfortable, we should try to do it if it really benefits humanity. But there's so much uncertainty? What if humanity uses its newfound abilities to make things even worse for its weakest members somehow?"
[16:49] <Minaplo> ["Like what?"]
[16:57] <Yanmei> "I don't know! But with how creative some people can be with AT Fields, wouldn't just it be a matter of time before someone came up with something?"
[16:59] <Minaplo> [Lin tapped her fingers together thoughtfully.-
[17:00] <Minaplo> ["I once saw a rally in Xiangyang. Over three thousand people present. The government dispersed it with water cannon and batons. Hundreds were injured, and some people died." Said Lin.-
[17:01] <Minaplo> ["If those people had AT Fields, not only would the cannons and batons not have been at all effective, but not even artillery shells would've done much."-
[17:03] <Minaplo> ["For most of human history, the strong have dominated the weak by redefining the basis of strength in ways that the weak cannot achieve." Said Lin. "Money is an obvious one, because wealth attracts wealth. Superior weaponry is common, too. Education is another one- for millennia, monopolised by the strong."-
[17:07] <Minaplo> ["The AT Field cannot be taken away." Said Lin. "And if it's universal, than it can't be selectively granted. The mighty can't control its distrubtion."-
[17:08] <Minaplo> ["Now I do understand what you mean. What if someone develops some special AT Field technique that lets them dominate other people, regardless. Anyone with that technique would be strong, anyone without it would be weak. Is that what you mean?"]
[17:09] <Yanmei> "Yes, that's right."
[17:10] <Minaplo> ["Then stop them." Said Lin. "That is your job, isn't it?"]
[17:12] * Yanmei blinked. "Well… yes. As long as I'm alive, anyway."
[17:13] <Minaplo> ["Exactly. We've talked about the physical and AT Field changes to humanity, but now we should talk about the cultural ones." Said Lin.-
[17:15] <Minaplo> ["The United Nations is dead. The majority of the world's military forces are worn out completely. And right now, every single human being is experiencing what can be only called a profound spiritual experience. To many, it must seem like they've just met God."-
[17:16] <Minaplo> ["Because every soul has a choice on what to do now, it means that after this, people will come back from the dead. Millions. Billions, to a world healed from centuries of mismanagement and abuse." Said Lin.-
[17:23] <Minaplo> ["Humanity has gone through its most profound upheaval ever. This is what the Federation was made for." Said Lin. "It's up to us to take control, to unify humanity into a single form of leadership. For us to make just laws and lead humanity into a future that we've been waiting for. We can learn from the mistakes of the past and build a robust, just world government that can prevent power from accumulating in the hands of the few."-
[17:24] <Minaplo> ["If we do our jobs, Yanmei, then humans will never fight humans in war again. There won't be any more nations- just humanity."]
[17:29] <Yanmei> "I don't know if things will go that smoothly, but it is a good future to aspire to. It's peaceful…"
[17:30] <Minaplo> ["I'm sure we'll encounter enemies sooner or later, but there are so many problems, that have plagued humanity for millennia, that we can fix- in the next ten years."-
[18:01] <Minaplo> ["… And that becomes vastly easier if we go with the plan to improve humanity's physical form. Disease, starvation, gone. Old age and infirmity- gone, at least for awhile." Said Lin. "And much of the underpinning causes for conflict- gone."]
[14:04] <Yanmei> "It sounds easier." Yanmei perked up a little bit. "Assuming that the leaders of the world's nations stay in place for a bit longer or transition into new roles in this new age… this will mean that they'll be a lot nicer to deal with overall?"
[14:08] <Minaplo> ["I'm sure some will." Said Liu Lin. "Remember this… The Exarch is restoring the world environmentally, and giving people a chance to return to life. Nations like China, the United Kingdom and the United States will start to regain some of their vigour… And its leaders- myself included- are on your side, willing to support the Federation."-
[14:10] <Minaplo> ["Even if things don't turn out as ideally as I hope they do, in the most practical of ways, they don't have a choice: we have the monopoly of military force in the world." Said Lin with a shrug. "Sell the Federation to the weaker nations as a way to protect them from the strong, if you have to, and let your allies sort out their own houses."]
[14:17] <Yanmei> "We could really pull it off, couldn't we?" said Yanmei thoughtfully. "Honestly, I feel like a lot of our allies are going to have their hands full domestically for a while anyway?"
[14:18] <Minaplo> ["Actually, we need to discuss your nomenclature."]
[14:31] <Yanmei> "W-we do?"
[14:33] <Minaplo> ["It's about time the Chancellor of the Federation stopped peddling heads of state as her allies and more as her legal subordinates."]
[14:34] <Yanmei> "Um. Isn't that going to make them really resentful?"
[14:37] <Minaplo> ["Maybe. But it doesn't matter."-
[14:40] <Minaplo> [Liu Lin lifted her head slightly, as though she smelled something. "It's time they read the room. I can smell springtime on the air. A promise a hundred and seventy years in the making is about to bear fruit."]
[14:53] <Yanmei> Yanmei's eyebrows rose high. "You're thinking of lower class uprisings… with less bloodshed this time around."
[14:54] <Minaplo> ["Who knows what'll happen? It's just a gut feeling."]
[14:59] <Yanmei> "I get the feeling the Federation will eventually become their target too, even if we support the masses in the beginning. We did just cause a huge war, after all."
[15:00] <Minaplo> ["We just won a war against an unpopular government."-
[15:00] <Minaplo> [Lin stood. "Although honestly, it's not worth making plans now until we know more about the fate of humanity…"]
[15:02] <Yanmei> "Yeah, I understand. We'll need at least a few months to observe the situation after a decision is made too. Thank you, again. This has been pretty enlightening, as always?"
[15:04] <Minaplo> ["You're welcome, Yanmei. I hope your other meetings go as well."]
[15:05] <Yanmei> "Thanks. I hope the same goes for yours too."
[15:06] <Minaplo> ["I'm going to use my time well, trust me."]
[15:09] * Yanmei grinned.
[15:10] <Minaplo> […]